National News

Adorable photo of baby waiting to meet her father goes insanely viral

The sign says it all.

Army specialist Cole Tesar met his 7-month-old daughter, Harper, for the first time this past weekend after returning from a nine-month deployment in Afghanistan.

This photo of Harper waiting for the big moment quickly went viral after Nebraska's WOWT posted the image to its Facebook page on Monday. As of press time, it had racked up more than 1.5 million likes.

It's not hard to see why. The baby is (of course) lovely. And the sign, a take on the infectious Carly Rae Jepsen tune, is hilarious. WOWT told Yahoo News that one of the station's news anchors is friends with Harper's father. The station asked if it would be OK if the family shared the photo. The family gave its blessing, and things quickly took off.

Tesar spoke to WOWT about seeing his wife, Logan, and holding baby Harper for the first time. "It is kind of different because it is my own baby; it is our own blood. It is definitely special, and it is a pretty good feeling," he said.

Via WOWT:

"Knowing that when it was all said and done, I would be with my family, I would be able to hold my baby for the first time, and be back with Logan and start a family."

WOWT's Amy Adams told Yahoo News, "This proves social media is a powerful tool for journalists. Little Harper meeting her dad is now worldwide news." She said the station initially posted the photo as a way to cheer up Facebook followers "who are sick of the cold weather."